Passenger’s 4800 Mile Connection

AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani just Tweeted that a passenger wanting a return ticket from Melbourne to Perth in Australia booked a ticket that goes via Kuala Lumpur–some 4800 miles out of the way.

Melbourne to Perth direct: 1,681 miles (one way)

Melbourne to Perth via Kuala Lumpur: 6,481 miles (one way)

Why do this? Certainly not as a “mileage run” since AirAsia X has no frequent flyer programme. The answer, Azran says, appears that flying on his airline via KL–despite adding nine hours flying time each way–is cheaper than going direct on an Australian airline.

Tickets to Perth must have been really expensive, or the seats on AirAsia X must have been on a super sale, because we can’t find dates and flights that make it cheaper to fly through KL. Or maybe the person wanted to fly a widebody or had a friend flying AirAsia X on some of the segments?